The Most Beautiful Rococo Library In The World:The Anna Amalia Library

The Duchess Anna Amalia Library located in Weimar, Thuringia, Germany, is world famous for its oval Rococo architecture. The library one of the most breathtaking examples of Rococo design.  The Rococo library houses a major collection of German literature and historical documents. The Duchess Anna Amalia Library is named for Anna Amalia, Duchess of Saxe-Weimar-Eisenach, who arranged in 1766 for the courtly book collection to be moved into the library.

In the picture above, a photographer takes a picture of the in the middle of the room with a view of the front door. Three weeks after (Read More.....)

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Gustavian Swedish Pier Mirrors

Gustavian Swedish Pier Mirror From Mallett Antiques

A pier mirror is a mirror which is placed between two windows.  These mirrors are  generally of a long and tall shape to fit the space. 18th century buildings often featured long windows, which the mirrors were created to complement.  These mirrors were commonly seen as a decorating feature in the rooms of large 18th century houses.

Live Auctioneers displays a rectangular pier mirror that has a beautiful urn over a frieze carved with laurel leaf swags and flowers and fluted apron below.  They estimate this mirror is between $3,000 - $5,000

Ruby Lane also has a rare 19th century pier mirror in gilt (Read More.....)

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18th Century Gustavian Decorating

It is always really exciting for me to come across a new richly designed Swedish home.  If you love Swedish furniture like I do, you really cherish the photos of homes which are decorated in 18th century style, because they are so rare to come across.  If you haven't had a chance to look through Clare Fraser's home featured in The New York Social Diary, please look at how she incorporates both Swedish and French decorating. Everything in Clare's home is hand picked, and not an inch of her home isn't perfectly designed.  One wall is faux painted in a large scale marble.  Among her fabulous accessories, her gilt wall clocks really shine.  If you look closely at the bed in her bedroom, the upholstered headboard fabric matches up perfectly with the design on the wall.  No (Read More.....)

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Painted Neoclassical Furniture

When I was living in Washington DC, I ran across a lovely 3 drawer chest on craigslist. I loved it soo much I asked for pictures by the owner, and because I didn't jump on it quickly, it sold under my feet.  The distressed white finish showed off the delicate features of the chest, and I couldn't help but really enjoy the color of the brass knobs.  Today condos are being built smaller, and it seems that homes are also being built with less room and awkward floorplans making every inch count when it comes to furnishing your home. With smaller bedrooms and living rooms, smaller scaled furniture becomes that more valuable when found. Locating furniture whi (Read More.....)

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